Suzume [Blu-ray]

Beautifully done! I remember watching the early trailer about a girl, a cat, and a chair, and thinking "Huh... I can't see myself getting so emotionally invested in an anthropomorphic chair that I could cry over it, but if Makoto Shinkai is making it, I bet I will" And I did. Though never about the chair... it's the blacked-out pages in the diary... oof, gets me every time. It is his masterful use of understated visual language like that which lets him tell what are actually quite dark and difficult stories and topics, but still keep them light and family friendly. For the kids in the audience, the shift in tone is noticed... meanwhile the adults watching are choking back tears. The whole story is about loss. Loss of family, loss of home, loss of self, and how all of that shapes and defines people... but not in a world-ending way; It is ultimately a story of hope, and how we get through losses personally, and culturally, and reconcile them with the present to carry on an live a fulfilling life. Beautiful animation, with stunning sky-boxes, set to an amazing sound track.. Truly some of his best work. But pretty much all of his movies are gold. I think 'Weathering with you' or 'place promised in our early days' is my favorite, with this close behind. But really, I think the only 'miss' of his works is 'children who chase lost voices', and even that was OK, just not stellar like the rest of his work. If Makoto Shinkai has his name on the movie, then you know you are in for a beautifully told story.

If a fan of Studio Ghibli or Makoto Shinkai, who did this film plus his two other big ones “Your Name” and “Weathering With You” then you should watch this. Preferably with a good audio system. I have always been a much bigger fan of Makoto’s films than Studio Ghibli. In fact I don’t like Ghibli movies that much, just their soundtracks. But Makoto’s movies are always at the pinnacle of art and soundtrack, with stories varying in a spectrum from “Good” to “Incredible”. His first big film “Your Name” is one of my favorite films ever. Suzume has top tier music and art with a story that is at least good, bordering on great. Even if you are one of those people that unfortunately will discount anything purely on the basis of it being animated, this movie or anything by Makoto Shinkai is something you should see.

Suzume (original Japanese title – Suzume No Tojimari) opens with a scene of heartrending bleakness, rather in contrast with most (but not all) of the rest of the movie. A little girl, who appears to be about 4 or 5, wanders what appear to be postapocalyptic ruins calling out plaintively for her mommy. Then, as it starts to snow, a figure appears... The next thing we see is the title character, Suzume Iwato, a high school girl waking, possibly from a dream, in the nice house she lives in with her aunt. On the way to school on her bike that morning, she happens to pass by a slightly older college student, and is immediately smitten. Then the stranger, whose name turns out to be Shota, asks her a question that makes her even more intrigued. He wants to know if there are any ruins in the area, particularly any with a door standing by itself. Later, after Suzume decides she and Shota didn't have enough time to talk, she heads back in the direction of the ruins herself. What she finds in this partially drowned town is a large open space where, in the middle, in a few inches of water, stands a solitary door that leads to nowhere. Or at least appears to. When Suzume opens the door it opens up onto a whole other world, and when she dislodges what she doesn't know is a magical keystone, the doors across Japan are free to start opening. It's what comes through the doors later on that is the problem. Different apparitions of what is called The Worm come out. Colossal pillars of red smoke and red energy, they bring with them earthquakes and storms, and threaten the whole of Japan, under which the Worm has been imprisoned. This is just the start of the story. Suzume and Shota must pursue a cat named Daijin across the Japanese islands where the doors are set to open. This would be daunting enough without Shota's body vanishing and his consciousness being trapped in a three-legged chair(!) Where do they come up with these ideas? Only in anime could you have a story where a schoolgirl and a walking, talking three-legged chair chasing a magical, talking cat across Japan to stop a sinister being like the Worm (which only they can see) from destroying the country, actually work. And no, it's not presented as a farce. It has its lots of humor in it, but there's an awful lot else there too in this beautifully triumphant and devastatingly heartbreaking tale. Beautifully animated and with great characters, I can't wait to watch it again.

WOW!! How have I not heard about this movie before?! ITS EXCELLENT!!! The voice dub, the story, the pacing … everything is beautifully animated & has a sprinkle of feel of Studio Ghibli with how some of the characters are drawn. Especially when during the road trip with Daijin when they play Yumi Matsutoya - Rouge no Dengon The song from Kiki's Delivery Service that plays on her radio when she's flying on her broom. (Another wonderful anime movie) I’d totally say it’s family friendly.. even though the main character deals with the loss off her Mom during the Japanese Tsunami when she is 4 yrs old. So glad I could find this on Amazon these days. I’ll rewatch it next with original Japanese dialogue. The trailers don’t do it justice.

Very good movie and also blue ray looks very nice

Beau film. Reçu bien emballé et dans les temps.

While I love good quality anime movies, I have to test them against my wife's viewing experience. She really enjoyed this. We watched it closely on the heals of watch the most recent Ghibili offering and we both thought this was the superior movie. Beautiful animation, interesting characters and plenty of creativity.

This how to make a female lead movie without killing your brain cells. The story and pacing is good.

La película llegó a tiempo y en buen estado. Muy buena animación e historia, Makoto Shinkai es de los mejores para crear historias emotivas.

Outstanding! I purchased this as i had seen other films by this director. Was not dissapointed. Animation, music and story are all noteworthy. I highly reccomend. Good price too.